


Father Figure

by AstroLatte



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Cell Saga, Drama, Hinted Gohan/Videl, Mirai Trunks Life Wasn't Bad Enough So I Made It Worse, Other, Tragedy, Vegeta Being The Worse Dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 15:18:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4396967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstroLatte/pseuds/AstroLatte
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trunks wasn't sure what to make of his father when they first met, but now he's pretty sure he hates his guts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Father Figure

Trunks knew that the Hyperbolic Time Chamber was a strange place. With one year inside the Chamber being the equivalent to one day on the outside, it's easy to lose track of time. In his first moments inside, he learned that a step over the threshold of the training area brings one immediately into ten times Earth's gravity. Later he also learned that the air gets denser and the temperature fluctuates the deeper one goes into the training area.

None of this however was as strange as the man sharing the space with him.

As Trunks stood on the threshold of the training area, where the gravity was still familiar and the air still breathable, he watched as his father entered within the Chamber's depths. He wore the same stoic expression as always, glaring forward and never looking back. Before entering, Goku had warned them of the Chamber's infinite boundaries which had often lead other men to madness.

Unfortunately, his father was not like other men. He was the proud prince of an extinct race whose only modus operandi was to beat the next challenger that stood before him. Whether it be friend, foe or even his own son, apparently.

"Hey!" Trunks called into the abyss, unsurprised when he didn't hear anything back. "I'm heading in!"

Just as the days before, he wandered into the whiteness alone half-expecting to see his father from the corner of his eye. He had stopped addressing his roommate as "father" and opted to instead address him directly. As Trunks felt the weight of the earth pull against his muscles, he wondered if he was able to see him through the whiteness. After a few hours of shadow boxing with himself, Trunks wondered if he even cared.

By the end of the second day, he was pretty sure he didn't give a shit.

Time wasn't something worth keeping track of in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and he grounded himself with actions instead of time. Trunks didn't think of time as days, but rather trained until he was tired, rested and ate when he awoke before beginning training again. It was a cycle and distracted him from the nothingness from both the room and its company.

In the back of his mind, Trunks noted that it had been a while since he saw his father. He pushed the concern away, figuring he was just on a different cycle so their paths never crossed. He figured it was probably better that way considering the man seemingly wanted nothing to do with him whatsoever.

That was until Trunks tripped over his unconscious body.

Technically it was more of a stumble, as it was difficult to trip in a room where the ground and the ceiling went on to infinity. After gaining his bearing, Trunks looked down to to see his father groaning, his body battered and bruised. He could tell that he was alive though incredibly weak as he threw him over his shoulder, carrying him out towards to the bridge where the gravity lessened. He was just walking into the sleeping quarters when he felt a stir in his shoulder.

"Let...me go…"

Trunks ignored him and instead dropped the man unceremoniously onto the bed. His father swore loudly, his face twisting in pain and he turned to face the younger man.

"How did you even get like this?" Trunks demanded, pointing to the various wounds on his father's body. "Did you even sleep? Or eat? How are you supposed to get stronger if you can't even keep yourself health-"

"Shut up!" Vegeta shouted, eyes piercing. "You know nothing of a Saiyan's health, you miserable half-breed!"

Trunks' eyes narrowed as a heavy silence fell between them. Sighing heavily, he turned to make his way to the kitchen area of the room to find the medical kit within one of the many cupboards. When he finally returned, he saw that his father's eyes were closed as he breathed evenly through his nose.

It appeared that even Saiyans needed rest, how unsurprising. At least this way he could dress is father's wounds without too much trouble.

Pulling a chair to the bedside, Trunks began the heavy burden of taking care of the man who resentfully gave him life.

"What did Mom ever see in you..." he wondered out loud as he prepared the antibiotic ointment. "You're both so stubborn I'm surprised you stopped arguing long enough to-"

Trunks quickly stopped talking, realizing where the conversation was heading. He had no desire to discuss his conception, even if the conversation was one-sided.

"Well, anyway I guess it doesn't matter," he continued, unclipping his father's broken armor to reach a particularly nasty looking gash below his collarbone. "Thanks to you there's at least one Sayian left in my time...even if he is a miserable half-breed."

The comment was a test to see if Vegeta was awake, as he wasn't usually one to back down from a raw verbal challenge. After waiting a beat and hearing no reply, Trunks went back to talking to himself as he worked.

"Back home, it was just me and Gohan for a while," he recalled, smiling sadly to himself. "I...I'm not sure if I should even bring this up, but he actually had someone special before he died. Since the Androids destroyed everything, not many people looked for romantic partners. It actually was a real problem, but nobody wanted to bring new life into a world where everything was a nightmare."

Trunks swallowed hard, running his clean hand through his hair and noting how much it had grown since entering the Chamber. It least it was working…

"Gohan was never one to following orders and neither was Vi-" he stopped himself abruptly, before laughing at his own hesitance. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't share  _too_  much. I'd hate to ruin any surprises that may happen if we manage to survive Cell."

He side-eyed his father before continuing, returning his glance back to the bandages.

"After Gohan died I thought I was the last Saiyan alive, but that wasn't the case." Trunks admitted as he ripped free the bandage to start a new wrapping on Vegeta's limp wrist. "When Chichi found out she was going to be a grandmother, she was ecstatic and so was Mom. They brought Gohan's wife with us to the Underground and took care of her the best they could. She seemed relieved that there were other women in the world who could help her through a Saiyan pregnancy. There was finally hope again that maybe a next generation of warriors would be the ones to defeat the Android and save the world. It's what Gohan would've wanted."

Trunks paused, his eyes focused on the medical kit on the floor as the memories flew to the forefront of his psyche.

"I still don't know how they found them, but the Androids always had an obsession with anyone related to Goku. By the time I managed to fight them off, Chichi was already killed and Gohan's wife was badly injured and going into premature labor." Trunks closed his eyes painfully, he felt the tears pulse against his eyes as he fought them back. "I was fifteen and had no idea what to do, so I rushed her to Mom's place as fast as I could. She was nearly gone by the time I got there, but she made us promise to save the baby...but we couldn't save them. I couldn't save either of them."

From the corner of his eye, Trunks saw his father turn slowly towards him with wide eyes. For moment he thought he caught a glimpse of something soft within their depths, but Trunks knew better than to expect any sort of sympathy. Instead, he snapped the medical kit shut and stood to his feet.

"You're right, I don't know anything about a Saiyan's health because I'm all that's left," he hissed fiercely, staring at his father with his mother's eyes. "But I'd be damned if I let that happen again, so you better keep yourself alive long enough to teach that toddler outside about his heritage."

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at Astrolatte.tumblr.com to cry over these dumb fighting dudes with me.


End file.
